JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU softball team (19-12, 10-2 ASUN) claimed the series finale over North Florida (13-18, 5-7 ASUN) in 3-2 fashion, Saturday afternoon at the UNF Softball Complex.
"Great job by our team to come back and win the series today," said head coach
David Deiros. "We did enough early to build a lead and Marissa and Taylor again, did a great job getting out of jams. It's great to be in first place in the South Division with six to go."
FGCU scored in the first three innings to take a 3-1 lead on UNF. In the first frame,
McKenna Batterton (Norco, Calif./Eleanor Roosevelt HS) singled to the shortstop with one out and moved to second on a sac bunt from
Reedy Davenport (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) with two away. Up next,
Taylor Bauman (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast HS) singled down the left-field line for the RBI. The following inning, FGCU once again did damage with two outs.
Emily Estroff (Coconut Creek, Fla./Coral Springs Charter HS/Villanova) produced a knock to left and stood on second after a fielder's choice.
Farley Callaghan (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) then dug in and roped one to center to score Estroff. UNF would respond with one run in the bottom of the second to bring FGCU's lead down to one (2-1).
Batterton led off the third with an opposite-field base hit to left before moving to second on another sac bunt from Davenport. After a strikeout made it two outs,
Meagan Ricks (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven HS) singled to left, allowing Batterton to touch home plate on a miscue by the fielder.
Marissa Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla./South Sumter HS) would go 4.1 innings as Bauman entered the circle. She would walk one batter to load the bases as a sac fly gave UNF its second score. The Ospreys would strand three in the inning.
FGCU's defense produced a 1-2-3 frame in the sixth but North Florida made it interesting in the seventh. A single and a sac bunt put a runner on second before a grounder moved the runner to third with two away. On a 2-1 pitch, Bauman induced a grounder to short to end the game.
The Green and Blue manufactured seven hits as Batterton and
Johneisha Rowe (Avon Park, Fla./Sebring HS) each went 2-for-4. Rowe recorded two stolen bases. Bauman at the dish went 1-for-3 with an RBI and pitched 2.2 innings of relief, allowing just one hit, two walks with three strikeouts.
Mesiemore scattered four hits on two runs, striking out one batter with no walks. She moves to 10-4 matching her single-season high for wins (twice, 2018, 2019).
Up Next
FGCU heads to Kennesaw, Ga., for the crossover portion of its schedule starting next Friday, Apr. 9 with games against Bellarmine and Kennesaw State. The Eagles face Bellarmine at 11 a.m. followed by Kennesaw State at 4 p.m.
ASUN Standings
South Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
FGCU |
10-2 |
19-12 |
| 2. |
Jacksonville |
6-5 |
18-11 |
| 3. |
North Florida |
5-7 |
13-18 |
| 4. |
Stetson |
2-9 |
6-15 |
North Division
| Place |
Team |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. |
Kennesaw State |
7-2 |
14-17 |
| 2. |
Liberty |
4-2 |
22-12 |
| 3. |
North Alabama |
5-4 |
17-9 |
| 4. |
Lipscomb |
2-4 |
11-12 |
| 5. |
Bellarmine |
0-6 |
5-18 |
Recent Results (Saturday, Apr. 3)
Liberty def. Kennesaw State, 3-2
Stetson def. Jacksonville, 5-2. Game 2 in progress.
Mississippi State @ North Alabama Game 1 in progress.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the-minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball and Instagram at fgcusoftball and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.
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IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros is in his 19th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 680-357-3 (.655), going 157-92 (.630) in the ASUN, having 14 seasons with a winning record, and nine campaigns with 35 wins. Deiros is a former head coach at the 1998 Florida State Runner-up Lely High School in Naples and is the founding head coach of the 1999 District Champion/2001 Regional Runner-up Gulf Coast High School in Naples.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 39 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
